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WTF: Vampire Hunter D Cosplay

For the 2002 conventions, I (Starherd) constructed a D costume

for Kasra's man. (One of my co-workers made a beautiful Blood

Countess Carmilla costume from the second movie, Bloodlust, so

it worked out great.)

This costume was worn for Fanime 2002 and Anime Expo 2002.

He already had a shirt, so I started by making a simple pair of pants

out of black crushed velvet. Next, I made a sort of padded breastplate,

and a very full cape of costume satin (a light, flowy material).

By covering large shoulder pads with a black silk dragon brocade, I

attempted to replicate a little of the armor style depicted in some of

the Amano paintings of D. The round covered pads became knee pads,

and the half-circle shaped ones were layered to make shoulder armor.

Using the same material, I made a wide belt which secured in the

back with Velcro. In the center front I sewed on a mock buckle,

which was made by painting the appropriate skull symbol on the

inside of half of a clear plastic ornament/container (such as can

be found at some craft stores).

I also made gauntlets, again from the silk brocade. These are padded

and cover the lower arms and the backs of the hands.

By far the part of the costume that took the longest was the hat.

After designing a pattern, I cut the pieces of the hat out of wire

craft mesh, and put them together and reinforced them using more

wire. Then, that understructure was covered with a layer of felt,

and then a layer of velveteen. (Warning: velveteen may give a great,

light-absorbing finish, but it leaves little fuzzy bits everywhere.)

To finish the hat, the symbol for the side was made the same way

as the belt buckle, and sewn on.

The white gloves were bought from a costume store, and the

parasite-face was hand-sculpted in Crayola Model Magic over a

trimmed-down small mask form, and then sewn to the glove.

(We discovered that, as it was in the palm of the hand, the

parasite picked up dirt like a magnet; we've been painting it

white again with acrylic paint between wearings.)

Lastly, the boot covers were made from a pair of boot covers bought

at a costume store. I adjusted the fit so that they would be form-

fitting and fasten with velcro instead of loose elastic.

There was also a plain satin sash, which we used to attatch the

wearer's bag. I also made a long, wide black scarf for the outfit, but

due to the warm weather, it was not worn. However, with the scarf,

the D costume looks much more Amano-style. :-)

The necklace is a large, flat jade oval acquired via eBay.

Ivory Ben Nye water-based cake makeup was used to lighten

the wearer's face (no other makeup was used, as once his face

was lightened, we all thought that he looked rather like the Amano

artwork). Also, the wearer's own hair was used, rather than a wig.

For the entire costume - hat, belt, cape, sash, gauntlets, gloves,

parasite, scarf, kneepads, boot covers, breastplate, and pants - the cost

would be about $300. A shirt as well would be around $40.

Gloves and parasite alone would be $35, and hat alone would be $100.

Want a D costume, or anything else D-related?

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